Sergei Prokofiev

Sergei Prokofiev

Sergei Sergeyevich Prokofiev was a Russian composer, pianist and conductor who mastered numerous musical genres and is regarded as one of the major composers of the 20th century...

's Piano Concerto No. 4 in B-flat major for the left hand, Op. 53, was commissioned by the one-armed pianist Paul Wittgenstein

Paul Wittgenstein

Paul Wittgenstein was an Austrian-born concert pianist, who became known for his ability to play with just his left hand, after he lost his right arm during the First World War. He devised novel techniques, including pedal and hand-movement combinations, that allowed him to play chords previously...

 and completed in 1931.

Wittgenstein did not understand the work, but it is not the case (as has sometimes been claimed) that he refused to play it. He was simply not prepared to play it until such time as he had appreciated its inner logic. That time never came, but Wittgenstein and Prokofiev always remained on friendly terms.

It was the only one of Prokofiev's complete piano concertos that never saw a performance during his lifetime. It was premiered in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

 on 5 September 1956 by Siegfried Rapp and the West Berlin Radio Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Martin Rich

Martin Rich

Martin Rich , was a German opera and symphonic conductor.Rich played the piano form the age of 5. He studied in Berlin under Franz Schreker. He conducted at places such as Bologna in Italy, and Grant Park, in Illinois as well as the Metropolitan Opera. From 1970 to 1986 he headed the Philharmonic...

. The United States premiere was in 1958, by Rudolf Serkin

Rudolf Serkin

Rudolf Serkin , was a Bohemian-born pianist.-Life and early career:Serkin was born in Eger, Bohemia, Austro-Hungarian Empire to a Russian-Jewish family....

 and the Philadelphia Orchestra

Philadelphia Orchestra

The Philadelphia Orchestra is a symphony orchestra based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, in the United States. One of the "Big Five" American orchestras, it was founded in 1900...

 under Eugene Ormandy

Eugene Ormandy

Eugene Ormandy was a Hungarian-born conductor and violinist.-Early life:Born Jenő Blau in Budapest, Hungary, Ormandy began studying violin at the Royal National Hungarian Academy of Music at the age of five...

.

Structure

The concerto has four movements, lasting around 25 minutes:

1. Vivace (4-5 mins)
2. Andante (9-13 mins)
3. Moderato (8-9 mins)
4. Vivace (1-2 mins)

The first and last movement serve as a brief prelude and postlude respectively. The middle two movements comprise the main bulk of the concerto. The andante is more reflective and expands with a romantic greatness. The sarcastic Moderato is in "modified sonata-form". The concerto has an unusual ending, with the piano running up pianissimo to a very high B-flat₇.

Instrumentation

The work is scored for solo piano (left hand), 2 flute

Flute

The flute is a musical instrument of the woodwind family. Unlike woodwind instruments with reeds, a flute is an aerophone or reedless wind instrument that produces its sound from the flow of air across an opening...

s, 2 oboe

Oboe

The oboe is a double reed musical instrument of the woodwind family. In English, prior to 1770, the instrument was called "hautbois" , "hoboy", or "French hoboy". The spelling "oboe" was adopted into English ca...

s, 2 clarinet

Clarinet

The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...

s, 2 bassoon

Bassoon

The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family that typically plays music written in the bass and tenor registers, and occasionally higher. Appearing in its modern form in the 19th century, the bassoon figures prominently in orchestral, concert band and chamber music literature...

s, 2 horn

Horn (instrument)

The horn is a brass instrument consisting of about of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. A musician who plays the horn is called a horn player ....

s, 1 trumpet

Trumpet

The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...

, 1 trombone

Trombone

The trombone is a musical instrument in the brass family. Like all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player’s vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate...

, bass drum

Bass drum

Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...

 and strings

String section

The string section is the largest body of the standard orchestra and consists of bowed string instruments of the violin family.It normally comprises five sections: the first violins, the second violins, the violas, the cellos, and the double basses...

.

Recordings

Pianist	Orchestra	Conductor	Record Company	Year of Recording	Format
Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Ashkenazy Vladimir Davidovich Ashkenazy is a Russian-Icelandic conductor and pianist. Since 1972 he has been a citizen of Iceland, his wife Þórunn's country of birth. Since 1978, because of his many obligations in Europe, he and his family have resided in Meggen, near Lucerne in Switzerland...	London Symphony Orchestra London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...	André Previn André Previn André George Previn, KBE is an American pianist, conductor, and composer. He is considered one of the most versatile musicians in the world, and is the winner of four Academy Awards for his film work and ten Grammy Awards for his recordings. -Early Life:Previn was born in...	Decca Decca Records Decca Records began as a British record label established in 1929 by Edward Lewis. Its U.S. label was established in late 1934; however, owing to World War II, the link with the British company was broken for several decades....	1975	CD
Kun-Woo Paik Kun-Woo Paik Kun-woo Paik is a South Korean pianist.-Early life:Kun Woo Paik was born in Seoul. he gave his first concert, aged 10, with the Korean National Orchestra . In the following years he performed many important works in Korea, including several premieres such as Mussorgsky's Pictures at an Exhibition...	Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra	Antoni Wit Antoni Wit Antoni Wit is a Polish conductor. He is the present musical director of the Warsaw Philharmonic Orchestra.Wit graduated from Kraków's State Higher School of Music, studying conducting under Henryk Czyz and composition under Krzysztof Penderecki, going on to study under Nadia Boulanger in...	Naxos Naxos Records Naxos Records is a record label specializing in classical music. Through a number of imprints, Naxos also releases genres including Chinese music, jazz, world music, and early rock & roll. The company was founded in 1987 by Klaus Heymann, a German-born resident of Hong Kong.Naxos is the largest...	1991	CD
Boris Berman Boris Berman Boris Berman is a Russian pianist and pedagogue .He was a student of Lev Oborin at the Moscow Conservatory. He made his debut in Moscow in 1965. He joined an early music ensemble, at the time the only one in Russia, as a harpsichordist. At the same time he worked with contemporary composers such...	Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra The Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra is a symphony orchestra of the Netherlands, based at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam. In 1988, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands conferred the "Royal" title upon the orchestra...	Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi Neeme Järvi is an Estonian-born conductor.-Early life:Järvi studied music first in Tallinn, and later in Leningrad at the Leningrad Conservatory under Yevgeny Mravinsky, and Nikolai Rabinovich, among others...	Chandos Chandos Records Chandos Records is an independent classical music recording company based in Colchester, Essex, in the United Kingdom, founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.- Background :...	1989	CD
Michel Beroff Michel Béroff -Biography:Béroff was born at Épinal, and trained at the Nancy Conservatory, winning the 1st prize in 1962 and the prize of excellence in 1963. He completed his studies at the Paris Conservatory with Yvonne Loriod, winning the 1st prize in 1966. In 1967 he made his Paris debut and won 1st prize in...	Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra The Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra is one of the the oldest symphony orchestras in the world...	Kurt Masur Kurt Masur Kurt Masur is a German conductor, particularly noted for his interpretation of German Romantic music.- Biography :Masur was born in Brieg, Lower Silesia, Germany and studied piano, composition and conducting in Leipzig, Saxony. Masur has been married three times...	EMI	1974	CD
Abdel Rahman El Bacha Abdel Rahman El Bacha Abdel Rahman El Bacha is a Lebanese pianist and composer.His repertory includes over fifty concertos and is largely based on the works of Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Chopin, Schubert, Schumann, Rachmaninov, Ravel and Prokofiev .-Biography:...	Théâtre de la Monnaie Orchestra	Kazushi Ono Kazushi Ono is a Japanese conductor, born in Tokyo. He studied at the Tokyo National University of Fine Arts and Music, and with Wolfgang Sawallisch and Giuseppe Patanè at the Bavarian State Opera , as a scholar of the Japanese Ministry of Culture. In 1987 he won First Prize in the 3rd Toscanini International...	Fuga Libera		CD
Nikolai Demidenko Nikolai Demidenko Nikolai Demidenko is a Russian pianist.Demidenko studied at the Moscow Gnessin School with Anna Kantor and at the Moscow Conservatoire under Dmitri Bashkirov. Demidenko was a medallist at the 1976 Montreal International Piano Competition and the 1978 Tchaikovsky International Competition...	London Philharmonic Orchestra London Philharmonic Orchestra The London Philharmonic Orchestra , based in London, is one of the major orchestras of the United Kingdom, and is based in the Royal Festival Hall. In addition, the LPO is the main resident orchestra of the Glyndebourne Festival Opera...	Alexander Lazarev Alexander Lazarev Alexander Lazarev is a Russian conductor. He studied at the Saint Petersburg Conservatory, and later at the Moscow Conservatory with Leo Ginsbourg. In 1971, he was the first prize winner in a national conducting competition in the USSR...			CD
Gabriel Tacchino Gabriel Tacchino Gabriel Tacchino is one of the premier post-war French classical pianists; he also teaches piano.Tacchino was born in Cannes. He studied at the Paris Conservatoire from 1947 to 1953, where his teachers included Jacques Février and Marguerite Long...	Orchestra of Radio Luxembourg	Louis de Froment Louis de Froment Louis de Froment was a French conductor.De Froment was born into a French noble family, and started his musical studies at the city conservatory. He later attended the Conservatoire national supérieur de musique of Paris and was a pupil of Louis Fourestier, Eugène Bigot and André Cluytens...	Quadromania	1977	CD
Leon Fleisher Leon Fleisher Leon Fleisher is an American pianist and conductor.-Early life and studies:Fleisher was born in San Francisco, where he started studying the piano at age four...	Boston Symphony Orchestra Boston Symphony Orchestra The Boston Symphony Orchestra is an orchestra based in Boston, Massachusetts. It is one of the five American orchestras commonly referred to as the "Big Five". Founded in 1881, the BSO plays most of its concerts at Boston's Symphony Hall and in the summer performs at the Tanglewood Music Center...	Seiji Ozawa Seiji Ozawa is a Japanese conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of large-scale late Romantic works. He is most known for his work as music director of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and principal conductor of the Vienna State Opera.-Early years:...	Sony Classical	1991	CD
Vladimir Krainev Vladimir Krainev Vladimir Krainev was a Russian pianist and professor of piano, People's Artist of the USSR.-Biography:...	Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra	Dmitri Kitajenko Dmitri Kitajenko Dmitri Georgievich Kitayenko is a Russian conductor.He was born in Leningrad and studied at the Glinka Conservatory and those of Leningrad and Moscow. He was a prizewinner in the first Herbert von Karajan competition in 1969....	Atlantic Atlantic Records Atlantic Records is an American record label best known for its many recordings of rhythm and blues, rock and roll, and jazz... /Teldec		CD
Alexander Toradze Alexander Toradze Alexander Toradze is a classical concert pianist, best known for his classical Russian repertoire, with career spanning over three decades...	Kirov Theatre Orchestra	Valery Gergiev Valery Gergiev Valery Abisalovich Gergiev is a Russian conductor and opera company director. He is general director and artistic director of the Mariinsky Theatre, principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra, and artistic director of the White Nights Festival in St. Petersburg.- Early life :Gergiev,...	Philips Philips Records Philips Records is a record label that was founded by Dutch electronics company Philips. It was started by "Philips Phonographische Industrie" in 1950. Recordings were made with popular artists of various nationalities and also with classical artists from Germany, France and Holland. Philips also...		CD
Viktoria Postnikova Viktoria Postnikova Viktoria Valentinovna Postnikova is a Russian pianist.-Biography:Postnikova was born in Moscow into a family of musicians. She entered the Central Music School of the Moscow Conservatory at age six, studying with E.B. Musaelian. She graduated in 1967, having studied there and in postgraduate...	USSR Ministry of Culture State Symphony Orchestra	Gennadi Rozhdestvensky			CD